Newsletter: China-Middle East

UAE rivals China in Africa

A UAE-based resource investment firm on Monday broke ground on a major solar plant in the Central African Republic that aims to power over 300,000 households once operational

Rosaleen Carroll
Rosaleen Carroll
Aug 21, 2025

Hi readers, 

It's Rosaleen in for Joyce.

China has long dominated Africa’s infrastructure, energy and trade sectors. Now, the United Arab Emirates is emerging as a strategic rival despite robust ties between the two. Through renewable energy projects, oil and gas investments and port development, the UAE is rapidly expanding its footprint across the continent. 

The overlap between Chinese and Emirati spheres is growing, creating a new layer of competition for influence in Africa’s quickly growing markets.

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Let’s unpack, 

Rosaleen Carroll (@roscarroll_) 

Leading this week

A UAE-based resource investment firm on Monday broke ground on a major solar plant in the Central African Republic that aims to power over 300,000 households once operational. Global South Utilities (GSU) is constructing a 50-megawatt solar plant in Sakai, which is expected to offset more than 50,000 tons of carbon emissions annually.  

GSU is also expanding elsewhere in Africa. In June, the firm signed agreements with Madagascar for a 50-megawatt solar plant, plus additional projects totaling up to 250 megawatts. Other Emirati renewable firms are doing the same.

➡️ Abu Dhabi’s Masdar plans $10 billion in investments and 10 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity across Africa by 2030. 

➡️ AMEA Power operates West Africa’s largest solar plant in Togo, which costs over $55 million and has projects in Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Uganda and other countries. 

➡️ ADNOC holds a 10% stake in Mozambique’s Rovuma gas basin. 

➡️ Dubai’s Alpha MBM is building Uganda’s first oil refinery for a total cost of $4 billion. 

➡️ Abu Dhabi-based International Resources Holding controls Zambia’s Mopani Copper Mines and is exploring projects in Angola, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya. 

UAE-linked ports and renewable projects span at least 32 African countries, about 59% of the continent. 

Between 2019 and 2023, Emirati companies announced around $110 billion in projects in Africa, with around 65% of that investment going toward renewable energy projects. Reports by consulting firm Ernst & Young say that the UAE became the top capital investor in the continent in 2022, beating out China.

UAE's Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al Hashimy (L) and Uganda's Foreign Affairs Minister Odongo Jeje Abubakhar at the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 29, 2025. (MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images)

Enter China 

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) still dwarfs competitors in scale. In just the first half of 2025, the BRI signed over $124 billion in new investments across the globe. Of this, Africa received $39 billion. 

Some of China’s biggest Belt and Road projects in Africa give a good sense of the scale and state-driven nature of its approach, which often consists of long-term, high-cost and infrastructure-heavy projects, tying African countries to decades-long financial and logistical dependencies.

The $5 billion Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya, financed mainly by China’s Exim Bank and built by state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation, remains one of the continent’s most expensive infrastructure projects. In Djibouti, Beijing has invested roughly $590 million to expand the Doraleh port and establish its first overseas naval base, funded in large part by state firm China Merchants Holdings. Mozambique’s $786 million Maputo-Katembe suspension bridge, built by China Road and Bridge, is the largest in Africa. In Tanzania, state-owned China Railway Group Limited is leading a consortium building a $2 billion railway line linking Dar es Salaam to Burundi.  

A broader view 

China and the UAE are pursuing Africa differently, but their ambitions intersect. China relies on scale and state-backing, financing massive infrastructure projects like railways, ports and energy grids through state banks and built by state-owned enterprises. These projects often saddle African governments with debt, creating both leverage for China and financial pressure for host countries. 

The UAE operates more nimbly through private or sovereign-backed investments, targeting renewable energy, ports, oil and gas and mining. Its projects are smaller individually, faster to execute and carry lower immediate debt, allowing Abu Dhabi to enter into African countries strategic sectors quicker.

China has long been seen as the dominant external power in Africa, outpacing the United States in infrastructure, energy and trade influence. Now, the UAE is emerging as a serious competitor, challenging Beijing in strategic sectors and regions that were once considered China’s domain. 

Meanwhile, the United States is shrinking away from Africa. Its traditional role as an aid supplier has waned, particularly following policy shifts under President Donald Trump.

Africa offers critical resources, growing markets and access to key trade routes. Plus, with a population of 1.5 billion and rapid urbanization in many countries across the continent, it also represents a growing consumer base and workforce. As China and the UAE carve out spheres of economic and political influence, Washington risks ceding ground in a continent with rapidly expanding strategic and economic import.

Photo of the week

Female soldiers from the People's Liberation Army stand in formation as they practice for an upcoming military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and Japan's surrender, at a military base on Aug. 20, 2025, in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Deals and visits ✈️

  • UAE extradites high-profile Chinese fugitive
  • Chinese, Afghan foreign ministers hold talks, China expresses interest in Afghanistan joining Belt and Road Initiative
  • China’s ZTT to establish $80 million subsea cable manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia
  • Oman hosts Chinese delegation to boost tourism
  • China’s Lenovo appoints leadership for Saudi expansion
  • Chinese food delivery platform Keeta launches in Qatar
  • China, Egypt sign contract for $1 billion tire factory in Suez Canal Economic Zone
  • Kuwait considers investments in Chinese petrochemical projects
  • China’s Zhenhua Oil set to double offtake from UAE’s ADNOC
  • China voices opposition to European reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran 
 

What we are reading​​​